


Launch Party

by yoshizora



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 22:18:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16334285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshizora/pseuds/yoshizora
Summary: Or: the reason why Mòrag has no Launch Arts.





	Launch Party

**Author's Note:**

> with the addition of Corvin who gives everyone a smash art, all playable Drivers have access to all four driver combo parts except Mòrag, who still has no launch art on any weapon because life isn't fair.

No one really understands the bunch of gibberish that Tora spouts when he starts rambling about the new weapon he’s developing. All they can discern is that it has something to do with a new Poppi form in the works, and he’s basing the design of the sword off of the Aegis’s, but they suppose that’s all they need to know. At the end of his excited ranting he’d asked them to demonstrate more Driver techniques, so here they are, going off to provoke a bunch of Ignas to practice on. 

The Ignas didn’t do anything wrong… _yet._ They’re just the most convenient targets for practice. 

“I’m the best at breaking,” Nia points to herself, stating this very matter-of-factly, and no one objects because that’s just the truth. She points to Rex. “He’s got the strongest handle on toppling, with that anchor shot. Zeke’s the muscle for launching, and Mòrag handles the smashing.”

“Each Driver have different specialty role! Tora understands, yes!” 

“But it’s fine to switch things up once in a while,” Zeke says. “Can’t have just one person hogging all the glory of the team combo, eh?”

“I _guess_ ,” Nia lets out an exaggeratedly annoyed sigh. “If you really wanna knock something over for a change of pace, just come out and say it.”

“A proper Driver’s gotta know how to do each thingy!” He waves his hands, vaguely, then points to Tora. “Like, you’ve already got a handle on toppling and smashing, yeah? Pretty damn impressive for a Nopon, I gotta say.” 

Tora bashfully rubs his wings together. Poppi bops him over the head to make him stop giggling. 

“But if you don’t get a good rhythm going, your efforts are basically useless,” Mythra says. “All it takes is one screwup for the combo to fail partway. For instance, if Rex is too slow to topple after Nia breaks an enemy…”

If Rex takes any offense to that, he smartly doesn’t say as such. 

“Or if Zeke is too busy preening and being a showboat to actually do his job and launch—“

Zeke, on the other hand, doesn’t have quite as much self-restraint. “Oi! There’s nothing wrong with having style and flair!” 

“If that’s what you wanna call it. Whatever.” 

“And that would be why adaptability is crucial in battle,” Mòrag flatly says to Tora. “We must always be prepared to pick up each other’s slack. Although preferably, there would be no slack at all.” 

They start talking over each other just because, and Tora is trying so hard to listen to each of them, but Mythra and Zeke are still arguing with Nia now leaping in to eagerly assist Mythra in verbally shredding him apart, and Mòrag’s lecturing is too convoluted and _dull_ to really grasp, and Pandoria’s trying to tell a story about how Zeke learned to topple with his elbow to no one in particular. 

Thankfully, Dromarch steps in to directly speak to Tora. 

“My Lady is indeed adept at inflicting break. However, she also has the capability to topple, and launch, and smash.” 

“Not with Dromarch’s rings, though?”

“Indeed. She would need to equip the weapons of other Blades.” 

“Hmmm… Tora bets he could use sword of new Poppi to do more than one parts of combo!” 

“Hah, that would certainly be a sight to behold. That is the case of all Drivers— everyone present is capable of performing all four stages of a full Driver combo, but with certain limitations.” Dromarch ponders this for a moment, as does Tora. Tora’s eyes light up in realization, and everyone abruptly falls silent at what he says next. 

“Tora just realized… never ever seen Mòrag launch before!” 

They all stop walking, too. The Ignas’ territory is visible just over the hill. 

“… Excuse me?” Mòrag squints at him. 

Zeke dramatically points at her, mouth agape. “ _You don’t know how to laaauuuunch?!_ ”

“What?! Of course I—“ 

“Then how come we’ve never seen you do it, huh?! Tora’s got a point, there!” Pandoria chimes in very unhelpfully, mimicking Zeke’s pose. “Very suspicious, if you ask me!” 

“How dare you?” Brighid says a bit too loudly, clearly holding something back. “Lady Mòrag shouldn’t even need to respond to such preposterous accusations. Of course she knows how to launch! Don’t be ridiculous.” 

But there’s a distinct air of discomfort around all of them now, especially around Mòrag, as the realizations dawn upon them one by one. Mythra, then Rex, then Dromarch’s eyes widen, and Poppi covers her mouth to stifle a gasp. What a shock. 

“Do you… want us to teach you how to launch, Mòrag…?” Rex hesitantly asks, unaware that Zeke is on the verge of bursting into laughter. 

Mòrag strides ahead and towards the Ignas, drawing her swords. “No. Go ahead and topple one. _Now._ ” 

Brighid holds her face in her hands just for a moment, then quickly follows her. She snaps back at the rest of the group, “Well? You heard her.” 

The Ignas are quick to respond once they wander in close to their territory. Three of them run at them, and Poppi diverts the attention of two with Tora while the other four Drivers corner that third Igna. Nia is quick to strike with her twin rings, inflicting it with a stagger, and Rex swiftly yanks it down face-first with a precise pull of his anchor shot. The Igna falls to the ground with a grunt.

Mòrag takes one large step forward, both swords ablaze. 

_”Launch!!”_ She shouts, whips unfurling towards the Igna. The steel snaps around its legs, and Mòrag twists her body in one violent motion, and… 

The poor Igna is launched. 

Higher. 

And higher.

Hurtling away into the sky, spinning in circles, flying further away and away until it’s out of sight. 

Then… it’s gone.

Pandoria slowly raises her hand in a mock salute, staring off at that bit of sky where the Igna had vanished. 

Meanwhile, Brighid’s shoulders sag and she sighs. _This is why Lady Mòrag doesn’t launch_ , she would say, but she cares far too deeply about Mòrag’s ego to actually do that. 

Nia is the first to speak. “Hey… you, you do know you can’t _do_ that, yeah?”

“What’s the problem?” Mòrag glares at all of them, just daring them to express dissent. “I simply eliminated the enemy with maximum efficiency.”

Everyone looks at anywhere else but at Mòrag. Even those two remaining Igna are no longer trying to bash against Tora’s Drill Shield, looking about as horrified as monstrous reptilians can be, staring at Mòrag in sheer terror for a moment before sprinting off to no doubt to warn the rest of their kin about this mad human who had hurled a fellow Igna into orbit. 

“Come along,” Mòrag barks, marching off after the Ignas that had fled. “I’ll be launching the rest of them.” 

From that day onwards, Mòrag is no longer allowed to launch in their Driver combos.

**Author's Note:**

> this will be my last fic until December! i'm going overseas for a month so yeah. expect Stormbringer ch5 to come out a bit after my return, though.


End file.
